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Measuring tools for identifying ageism
The measuring tools that have been developed, and appear in the academic literature, were important for constructing the current body of knowledge about the manifestation of Ageism. Familiarity with these research tools can contribute to a deeper understanding of the different aspects of the phenomenon, its prevalence, its risk factors, and the means necessary for its eradication. This section of ‘A Site for All Ages’ presents some of the tools, based on four main categories.
Measuring ageism in thoughts, feelings and behavior
Ageism toward older adults is expressed in three main ways: biased thought (example: “I think that old people are a burden on society”); biased emotion (example: “I don’t enjoy talking with old people”); and biased behavior (“I try to avoid interaction with old people”). Table 1 of the article "A systematic review of existing ageism scales” (Ayalon et al., 2019) presents a selection of measuring tools according to the type of ageism being tested: thought, emotion or behavior.
Ageism at the micro, meso and macro levels
Negative perceptions of old age and aging are part of society as a whole, including older adults themselves. Age-related exclusion and inequality take place at the level of the individual (micro), the level of social and group interaction (meso), and at the national-political level (macro). When ageism is examined at each level separately, as well as all levels together, the reciprocal, two-way influence can readily be understood.
Measuring ageism at the micro level
Measuring ageism at the meso level
Measuring ageism at the macro level
Objective and subjective ageism
Most studies do not examine ageism objectively, but ask interviewees to consider whether they have been exposed to discrimination based on their age. An example is Round 4 of the European Social Survey, in which people were asked subjectively about their exposure to age-based discrimination. In contrast, a study that directly examines whether people have been exposed to discriminatory behavior because of their age, reveals objective discrimination.
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The tree that stands outside my window
Will keep standing and looking at me
As if time has not passed
And I am still twenty.
For instance, you.
Old Age / Idit Barak
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Subjective measurement of ageism
Ageism in Israel and Europe: First findings from the European Social Survey (ESS)
Doron et al., 2011
The article presents a considerable similarity in the manifestation of ageism around the world. All countries identified a division between “young” and “old,” and most reported both positive and negative attitudes toward older people. A number of differences were identified, however.
מדידת גילנות סוביקטיבית
שם המאמר
לורם איפסום דולור סיט אמט, קונסקטורר אדיפיסינג אלית קולהע צופעט למרקוח איבן איף, ברומץ כלרשט מיחוצים. קלאצי קולורס מונפרד אדנדום סילקוף. לורם איפסום דולור סיט אמט, קונסקטורר אדיפיסינג אלית קולהע צופעט למרקוח איבן איף. לורם איפסום דולור סיט אמט, קונסקטורר אדיפיסינג אלית קולהע צופעט למרקוח איבן איף, ברומץ כלרשט מיחוצים. קלאצי קולורס מונפרד.
מדידת גילנות סוביקטיבית
שם המאמר
לורם איפסום דולור סיט אמט, קונסקטורר אדיפיסינג אלית קולהע צופעט למרקוח איבן איף, ברומץ כלרשט מיחוצים. קלאצי קולורס מונפרד אדנדום סילקוף. לורם איפסום דולור סיט אמט, קונסקטורר אדיפיסינג אלית קולהע צופעט למרקוח איבן איף. לורם איפסום דולור סיט אמט, קונסקטורר אדיפיסינג אלית קולהע צופעט למרקוח איבן איף, ברומץ כלרשט מיחוצים. קלאצי קולורס מונפרד.
מדידת גילנות סוביקטיבית
שם המאמר
לורם איפסום דולור סיט אמט, קונסקטורר אדיפיסינג אלית קולהע צופעט למרקוח איבן איף, ברומץ כלרשט מיחוצים. קלאצי קולורס מונפרד אדנדום סילקוף. לורם איפסום דולור סיט אמט, קונסקטורר אדיפיסינג אלית קולהע צופעט למרקוח איבן איף. לורם איפסום דולור סיט אמט, קונסקטורר אדיפיסינג אלית קולהע צופעט למרקוח איבן איף, ברומץ כלרשט מיחוצים. קלאצי קולורס מונפרד.
Objective measurement of ageism
Contemporary Perspectives on Ageism
2018 ,Ayalon & Tesch-Römer
This book contains a range of studies on the subject of ageism, including measurements and papers by scholars from over twenty countries. Within this material are studies that deal with objective and subjective ageism measurements.
Overt and covert ageism
Covert and indirect measurement of ageism is very often preferred to overt and direct measurement because of the undesired qualities of ageism. Overt tools examine ageist perceptions, behavior and/or feelings through the interviewees’ open statements of their opinions about old age and its characteristics. By contrast, in covert measurement the interviewees are not aware that the main subject on which their statements are solicited is in fact their attitudes, feelings or behaviors towards age.
Overt measurement
The Multidimensional Nature of Ageism: Construct Validity and Group Differences | Rupp et al., 2005
The authors studied the structure and validity of the Fraboni Scale, and the differences of age and gender in the ageism measurements. Factor analysis supported the multidimensional nature of the FSA results, and in general validated the reported preliminary structure of factors, with few exceptions.
Covert measurement
Project Implicit- a “virtual laboratory” for collecting data on the Internet | Greenwald et al., 1998
The Implicit Association Test (IAT) measures opinions and beliefs that people are either not willing or not able to articulate. Use of the IAT is therefore possible for identifying ageist attitudes.
Reviewing vignettes as an implicit measurement of ageism among health care professionals | Shiovitz-Ezra et al., 2011
This article presents covert indirect ways of measuring ageism, by way of randomized case vignettes which vary only based on age. The survey of the literature in order to locate relevant tools was conducted by an information search in the main bibliographical pool of the social sciences and medicine.
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